1. The Migratory Flock
The Mugratory Flock : An essential field guide of Duck People
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2025
Note :
Project Link :
Visual Communication
Publication Design
— School Project, MDes Graphic Design, Glasgow School of Art
https://gsapostgradshowcase.net/suttida-anuchitolan/
“Duck People” comes from a common Thai metaphor used to describe someone who can do many things but is not considered a specialist in any of them. Like a duck itself: it can fly, but not as well as other birds; it can swim, but not as well as a fish; and it can walk, though a bit clumsily compared to other two-legged animals.
The Migratory Flock is a field guide to duck people, a Thai term used to describe someone who can do many things, but is not a specialist in any of them. This zine outlines these duck people, merging their personal stories with duck behaviour. Inspired by the broken comb model, used to describe people with a wide range of skills at different levels. The zine looks ordinary when folded, but shows the wide range of abilities duck people carry when unfolded. It creates space for duck people to feel represented, while inviting readers to recognise that they, too, might belong to the flock.
The Duck Handbook is a key item for Duck People and those who want to better understand them. More than just a guide, it serves as a tool for expression, communication, and pride in being a generalist. Its pocket-sized format makes it practical, while its tone and content reflect the unique personality and mindset of a Duck Person.
The shape of this zine is inspired by the broken-comb model, often used to describe people with a wide range of skills at different levels. When folded, it looks ordinary, but once unfolded into an accordion, it reveals the overwhelming range of abilities that duck people carry.
The accordion fold has uneven heights, so some pages reveal parts of the content from the back. This links to the way duck people use their skills: sometimes combining them to create new solutions, sometimes leaving them hidden or unused, but still present.
Printed with Risograph, the zine embraces vibrant colours and imperfections that communicate the nature of duck people: not perfect, not the best, but valuable in their own way. Varying papers, mixed typefaces, and field guide–inspired graphics reinforce the diversity and resourcefulness of duck people, while the folding structure itself reflects their layered and adaptive ways of living.
The content blends speculative stories of duck people, drawing from both their personal traits and the characteristics of ducks as animals, with interview that give space for fellow ducks who feel not good enough to speak and share their own experiences.
The Migratory Route section, it not a map of migration of a duck, but a journey of duck people moving from one skills/interest to another. The size of the yellow circle represents time spent in each, combining with 10,000 hours, which suggests that 10,000 hours of practice can make someone an expert. However, this rule is often misinterpreted as a guarantee of success; it should be considered the quality of practice, personal differences, and the nature of the activity. In my map, the largest circle is labelled 9,999 hours, highlighting that duck people never fully specialise. Smaller circles are proportionally scaled down, indicating less time spent.